THE British Government has begun negotiations to compensate victims of state-backed crime in Kenya during the Mau Mau uprising.

The talks could mark the first compensation settlement for alleged crimes during the days of colonial rule at a cost to tax­payers of millions of pounds.

And it could open the floodgates to claims in other former colonies.

The Government has been fighting a legal battle claiming the Kenyan authorities are legally responsible for any mistreatment during the 1952-1960 uprising.

It argued all liabilities were transferred to the Kenyan Republic in 1963 as Britain pulled out of Africa. But defeat in a test case in the High Court last October means up to 10,000 victims could seek compensation.

The court rejected the Government’s claim that too much time had elapsed for there to be a fair trial, with Mr Justice McCombe finding that three Kenyans had “arguable cases in law”.

An appeal by the Foreign Office was due to be heard this week but has now been put on hold as negotiations take place.

Last night, the Foreign Office said it would be “inappropriate” to discuss the talks. But a spokesman said: “We believe there should be a debate about the past. It is an enduring feature of our democracy that we are willing to learn from our history.

“We understand the pain and grievance felt by those, on all sides, who were involved in the divisive and bloody events of the Emergency period in Kenya.

“It is right that those who feel they have a case are free to take it to the courts.

Prisoners wait in Fort Hall prison in 1955

We believe there should be a debate about the past. It is an enduring feature of our democracy that we are willing to learn from our history.

A Foreign Office spokesperson

In 1952, Prime Minister Sir Winston Churchill declared a state of emergency in the country and ordered British and African soldiers to help colonial admin­istrators capture the fighters and send them to detention camps.

Thousands of Kenyans were detained, including US President Barack Obama’s grandfather, Hussein Onyango Obama.

Historians have documented atrocities on both sides in the conflict, which developed into a civil war as the British recruited local people to help them fight insurgents from the Kikuyu tribe.